Book 716: On Point (Out of Uniform #3) – Annabeth Albert

Hell-lo Sailor!

Although, are you allowed to say that if they’re Navy SEALs? I mean they’re still technically Navy right and that means sailor, but aren’t there also pilots in the navy?

That’s neither here nor there. This is the third installment, after Off Base and At Attention, of Annabeth Albert’s Out of Uniform series. It features Ben and Maddox, who we met in the last book, in a friends to lovers story that has been building for over a decade.

Ben and Maddox are both Navy SEALs and have been best friends since they met during BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training) where they bonded over the torturous conditions and their hidden, but eventually revealed, sexuality. They ended up stationed together and assigned to the same unit where their friendship continued to grow, but they were never single at the same time so never gave it a shot even though Maddox has pined after Ben for years and years.

This book starts not long after they had a couple of threesomes (voyeur/exhibition) and it’s gotten super awkward. They’re sent out on a critical mission and they’re separated from their unit and both seriously injured. And of course—because romance genre—Ben FINALLY realizes and accepts that he can’t be without Ben.

“Simple truth was that he had no idea how to be the man Maddox needed and deserved, and no amount of near-death experiences could change that.”(Loc. 1,278)

“Maddox gave so much of himself to Ben, and for the first time, he really saw that for the gift it was. Maddox didn’t just give him the courage to be strong—he gave him the space to be vulnerable.” (Loc. 3,538)

This was the most endearing part of the book because Ben, big bad Navy SEAL puts everything he has into this. The scene when Maddox comes home from physical therapy and Ben has made dinner (reheated from the local store) and logically says, look we should give this dating thing a try is both touching and frustrating. It’s frustrating because we already know that Ben’s feelings are wrapped up in his job and his duty not his love for Maddox. He focuses solely on Maddox as his best friend and his need for Maddox to remain a coworker because they’ve always been there for each other. Maddox becoming his lover is only secondary to all of this which is incredibly sad and provides the real drama of the book, Ben getting out of the military.

“‘I’m trying here.’ Ben leaned forward, all earnest concentration. ‘You were my best friend, and I used that as a . . . shield, sort of. It was easier to be your buddy than to admit that I was hopelessly in love with you.'” (Loc. 3,452)

Needless to say, they resolve their differences after a few mopey scenes and Ben moving out of their shared apartment, but it’s totally worth it for the happy for now epilogue when you get to see Ben coming back from deployment to surprise Maddox at the bakery he’s started and proposing. Yes. Please.

“Cooking you a big meal. Cuddling on the couch. Knowing the whole time that you’re not going anywhere, that this is more than some challenge or lark for you. Going to sleep together every night. Getting a pet. Decorating for the holidays. Yeah, Ben didn’t need to know his real fantasies.” (Loc. 2,157)

I think Albert was stretching her writing chops with this book as this is the first book I recall that had significant flashbacks. She’s done the dual narrative in quite a few books, but the dual narrative on top of the flashbacks was new. I felt that it worked really well and am even more encouraged to keep reading Albert’s work since these are ages old at this point. (I finally made a full list of her works that I haven’t read yet and there are some much older and quite a few newer that I’ll work my way through eventually.)

Recommendation: Albert’s character driven romances are 100% swoon worthy. If you’re not drowning in the saccharine you’re overheating in the sexy. She somehow manages to balance the hyper-masculine world of Navy SEALs with the tenderest of touches and most delicate maneuvering of emotions that you can go from being 100% turned on to holding back tears in a matter of seconds. The woman is a wizard.

Opening Line: “Ben was out again.”

Closing Line: “And it turned out that all they had to do to get here was leap.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)

Other Books in Out of Uniform:

• Off Base (#1)
• At Attention (#2)
• Wheels Up (#4)
• Squared Away (#5)
• Tight Quarters (#6)
• Rough Terrain (#7)

Additional Quotes from On Point
“‘I loved him,’ Ben said automatically, even though he had his doubts that he knew what love was—was it what his parents had before his mom hightailed it for Utah to find herself? Was it him and Trey young and drunk on a beach? Was it Maddox and Grayson and their puppy love that Grayson ditched for some hipster with a New England accent and pointy goatee? If true love was watching the other person marry someone else and being happy for them, Ben didn’t want any part of it.” (Loc. 1,705)

“‘My boyfriend,’ Ben added because fuck it. They were adults and he was done with today, done with pretending like Maddox was just another wedding guest and not the center of his whole damn universe. And yeah, part of it was to see her green eyes go wide. He figured someone had clued his mother in to him being gay, probably Marilee, but Ben didn’t really care if he shocked her all the way back to her damn guru and that lousy excuse for a commune. Wasn’t she supposed to eschew worldly things like nice dresses and champagne receptions and weddings?” (Loc. 2,627)